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The Pot Calling the Kettle Black? Gender-specific Health Dimensions of Colour Prejudice in India

Department of Gender and Women's Health, World Health Organisation, Geneva. E-mail: johnsonso{at}who.ch.

This paper examines the fairness industry in India, tracing its historical and cultural origins, and exposing its impact upon contemporary Indian society. The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, it shows how India's historical preoccupation with fair skin is in fact racism and sexism expressed through various cultural and historical mediums and reinforced by the contemporary beauty industry. It also highlights the risk of skin diseases such as ochronosis that are associated with the array of fairness products containing bleaching agents currently on the market. Consequently, the fairness phenomenon' in India is an important public health issue that has not to date attracted sufficient attention from academics or the medical establishment, unlike its parallel in black culture and society. The conclusion contains a list of recommendations to address the issue in a multidimensional fashion and is aimed at medical professionals, women's advocates, and those involved in the beauty and fashion industry.

Journal of Health Management, Vol. 4, No. 2, 215-227 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/097206340200400208


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